We bought this lamp as a solution for reading in a chair that was positioned such that a table or floor lamp wouldn't work.  Works great.  The lamp is solid, stays in position and provides good light.  The only downside is that the shade and light source sit up very high which isn't quite right for reading.  Since we liked the lamp so well, and wanted to keep it, we tackled this issue by adding additional weight to the shade . . . problem solved.